Music to Write An Essay To
the perfect writing music – get an “a” with andrew
featuring artists like:
Fiona Joy Hawkins, Cesium Swimsuit, ODESZA, Flow, DJ Food, music2work2, Cliff Martinez, Moby, Aphex Twin
YouTube was the first place where essay writing music really kicked off. Long form instrumental tracks created the perfect balance of blocking external noise without distracting cognitive centers with words or lyrics. Often falling into the “New Age” category, it wasn’t the sexiest of genres and would never appear on radio but there was a huge and hungry audience.
Many of the tracks on this playlist have millions of streams and views and are very much people’s go to writing music, others are brand new compositions but are great at setting the optimal environment for getting the words out.
Here’s the thing though – there’s no way that every track on this list is going to work for you – it’s likely that you’ll experience some tracks as jarring or too disruptive or even too boring and soporific. The point of this playlist is less about stringing tracks together in a sequence and more about finding tracks that you can put on repeat and get into a state of creative flow – it’s why we generally prefer longer form submissions.
While we cover pretty much all genres and intensities, typically the tracks are ambient in nature, mid tempo and are instrumental. There are some tracks with the odd word or two but there is no lyrical story telling to distract the writer when they’re trying to get their own words out.
Deprecated: strtoupper(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/musicto/public_html/wp-content/themes/html5blank-stable/category.php on line 155
North of The Prairie Stars – Peter Ostroushko
25 April 2017
The sense of longing throughout Ostroushko’s album, *Minnesota* is remarkable. Any track gets me writing. “North of the Prairie Stars” is a fine representative from this inspired album.
Deprecated: strtoupper(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/musicto/public_html/wp-content/themes/html5blank-stable/category.php on line 155
Grunwald (feat. Stereospread) – Keats’ Handwriting
11 April 2017
I’ve been away on vacation for a week – Australia – it was awesome – but – trying to get back into the writing groove has been a bear. Which is why I’ve been particularly stoked about this track. It’s been on repeat for the last hour and I just burned through the first 6 items on my to do list that could have taken my days!
Deprecated: strtoupper(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/musicto/public_html/wp-content/themes/html5blank-stable/category.php on line 155
Music for 18 Musicians – Steve Reich
30 March 2017
I love tracks that open like this – there’s an immediate sense of energy and urgency and yet – it’s not overwhelming or overpowering – it just picks you up and gently carries you along. Perfect opening track for an essay writing playlist.
Deprecated: strtoupper(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/musicto/public_html/wp-content/themes/html5blank-stable/category.php on line 155
Sadeness – Enigma
28 March 2017
Anybody who had ears in the early 90’s couldn’t move without hearing this track, it was one of those things that just exploded on the scene and was suddenly everywhere.
Deprecated: strtoupper(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/musicto/public_html/wp-content/themes/html5blank-stable/category.php on line 155
L’alternativa – bzur
27 March 2017
Originally placed on the Music to Grieve to playlist I knew it would be perfect for essay writing too. Put it on repeat and it works brilliantly.
Deprecated: strtoupper(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/musicto/public_html/wp-content/themes/html5blank-stable/category.php on line 155
Ave Maria – J.S. Bach and Charles Gounod
24 March 2017
If there’s one thing I abhor above everything else on the planet – it’s snobs! People who know, or even profess to know more about a subject and who hold it above you like a double edged sword to invalidate how you feel about something. Fuckers!
Deprecated: strtoupper(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/musicto/public_html/wp-content/themes/html5blank-stable/category.php on line 155
Lux Aeterna – Clint Mansell
23 March 2017
Another writer from the PLOS article, this time Ed Yong, Science writer at The Atlantic. He only had one recommendation – this track and here’s what he had to say about music to write to:
Deprecated: strtoupper(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/musicto/public_html/wp-content/themes/html5blank-stable/category.php on line 155
Marooned – Pink Floyd
22 March 2017
See that big ass Cathedral in-between the two statues, stuck in the middle of nowhere like a ship on the ocean? I sang there. I was a chorister. It was amazing!
Deprecated: strtoupper(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/musicto/public_html/wp-content/themes/html5blank-stable/category.php on line 155
Lyra Angelica – William Alwyn and Rachel Masters
21 March 2017
Recently I’ve been finding great writing inspiration in the British composer William Alwyn’s “Lyra Angelica,” a concerto for harp and string orchestra. It has many moods and tones, and both wrenches and uplifts me, soothes and galvanizes me in ways that I’m grateful for.
Deprecated: strtoupper(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/musicto/public_html/wp-content/themes/html5blank-stable/category.php on line 155
Ambient 1 / Music for Airports – Brian Eno
17 March 2017
I’ve been aware of this album for as long as I can remember – it was only when I got into the whole music2work2 thing that I really started to listen to it.
Deprecated: strtoupper(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/musicto/public_html/wp-content/themes/html5blank-stable/category.php on line 155
In A Silent Way – Miles Davis
17 March 2017
Another Steve Silberman track but Man am I digging this to write to. It’s almost 20 minutes long which – to my ears anyway – is a perfect length for essay writing music…
Deprecated: strtoupper(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/musicto/public_html/wp-content/themes/html5blank-stable/category.php on line 155
Glósóli – Sigur Rós
15 March 2017
I like to think of this track like a short sprint – you’ve got six minutes to go from nothing to fully fleshed out idea before the music becomes too overpowering and knocks you off.

The first visual memory I have is that of the white upright piano in Singapore, Hell and the Dark Forces lived at the bottom, Heaven and the Angels at the top, they would play battles through my fingers and I was hooked.
As a psychology graduate I studied how sound affects human performance.
As a musician I compose instrumental music that stimulates your brain but doesn't mess with your language centers, leaving you free to write creatively without distraction.
As a curator I research how music can improve your life and create flow - I can tell you what music to listen to when studying for a test and why listening to sad music can make you feel better.
As a creator / contributor at musicto I believe that music can make the world better.
What I'm doing now